Truth & Tragedy
In literature, a tragedy is a work in which the protagonist is brought to ruin as a consequence of a tragic flaw, a moral weakness, or the inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances. The tagline for The Other Wes Moore is "The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his."
What do you think the author means by this? Considering the definition above, do you see the Other Wes Moore's story as a tragedy? Pull your thoughts together and explain in one complete paragraph. Include text evidence in your response. Proofread and edit carefully before publishing.
“The chilling truth is that his story could’ve been mine, The tragedy is my story could’ve been his.” Anyones story could be someone elses and vice versa, it's the choices we make as a person that decides our fate in life. In The Other Wes Moore the two men have the same name, similar yet different situations growing up, and two completely different outcomes in life. If Wes’ mom didn’t decide to send him to military school maybe he would be in the same place the other Wes Moore ended up. Also their surroundings affected them, how are you supposed to not get swept up in what’s going on around you 24/7? You have to be very determined and have amazing people surrounding you, luckily Wes did. Their stories could’ve been the same but it's one moment in each one of their lives that will change their lives forever.
ReplyDeleteThe author uses the tagline “The chilling truth is that his story could’ve been mine, The tragedy is my story could’ve been his.” The author chose this tagline for a reason, and he wanted to show how everyone’s life depends on their actions. Although both the author and the other Wes had very similar lives in the beginning, their actions shifted them into the future and caused them to have completely different lives in the end. For example, the other Wes makes a terrible decision; “On the charge of first-degree felony murder, the jury finds the defendant...guilty” (Moore 156). The author, Wes, made bad decisions, but he corrected his mistakes unlike the other Wes who kept making his life worse and worse. The other Wes did try but he couldn’t avoid trouble and kept getting deeper. Eventually, his life did get severely bad but it isn’t a tragedy; he still has time to fix his mistakes and make his life a bit better.
ReplyDelete¨The chilling truth is that his story could've been mine, The tragedy is my story could've been his.¨ The Other Wes Moore and Wes Moore grew up in similar households. They were surrounded by gangs, drugs, and violence. Wes Moore decided to do something with his life, he ignored all of the people who told him to do bad things. Wes Moore went to military school to change his life forever. ¨ I decided to make the Army a fundamental part of my future¨ (130). The other Wes Moore often reacted to situations negatively. He would use violence and drugs to get through his life. Because he did not listen to people and focus on school, he will be spending his life in prison. ¨He would spend the rest of his life in prison¨ (156). Their stories could have ended up the same, but one decided to change their life for the good, and one did not.
ReplyDeleteThe tagline, "The chilling truth is that his story could've been mine, The tragedy is my story could've been his." is used by the author to describe how he could've had the same devastating experiences as the other Wes. Thankfully, due to his mother putting up boundaries and his background with military school, whenever he could walk away from trouble, he did. An example of this is when he is arrested, he tries to do the right thing by apologizing and being honest, he says, "Shea launched into his brilliant 'It wasn't us' story while I loudly attempted to overrule him by apologizing profusely" (Moore 83). Wes tried just accepting what he did and apologizing, that being the right thing to do, while other Wes did things that he knew would get him into trouble. The 2 had similar childhoods, but they didn't experience the exact same things. Wes could've ended up like the other Wes if he hadn't made good decisions early on.
ReplyDeleteThe tagline that the author uses is “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.” The author Wes, and the Other Wes grew up in very similar homes and lived very similar lifestyles. Other Wes got himself into bigger issues. He turned to selling drugs, and he was violent in many situations. On the other hand, author Wes could’ve had the same outcome as other Wes. Author Wes made the right decision on numerous occasions. He walked away from issues rather than creating them. His mother became more strict and sent him to military school. He was angry that his mother sent him away. Although he was angry, Wes realized it was for his own good. Wes worked extremely hard and got into John Hopkins University. Wes was going to get his degree at John Hopkins: “I had returned to Baltimore 2 years earlier, after I’d been accepted at John Hopkins to complete my undergraduate degree, which I’d begun in junior college at Valley Forge” (Moore 159). Wes proved that if he worked hard enough, he can turn his life around.
ReplyDeleteThe Other Wes’ story is definitely a tragedy. His tragedy began when he was only 8 and tried to stab another child just for shoving him, because his older brother always told him to send a message louder than theirs. He succumbed to the flashy appeal of being part of a drug enterprise, the author stating, “The whole tableau- the ring, the headset- was the coolest thing Wes had ever seen”(Moore 57). Perhaps with the proper care and attention that the author got, his story wouldn’t have ended the way it did, but his morals were flawed from the beginning, leading him to make bad decisions that eventually brought his life as a free man to an end. Ultimately, Wes chose fancy clothes and money over his safety and freedom, being just another product of his environment like so many other people were and continue to be.
ReplyDeleteEach Wes grew up in tough areas and faced alike challenges. The tagline of The Other Wes Moore is “"The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his." The author wants to stress that the Other Wes, if he made better choices, could have had a better future. During the author's teenage years, he was attacked and decided to not fight back for the greater good. The Other Wes also had a choice to not fight when he was attacked, but instead he decided to fight with a gun. In the Other Wes’ future, he partakes in a robbery and gets “charged of first-degree felony murder” (Moore). Wes the author, on the other hand, received the Rhodes Scholarship and went to Oxford. I believe that the Other Wes Moore’s story is a tragedy because he tried to fix his life, but he then got sucked back into his old habits of crime.
ReplyDeleteWes Moore, a now successful man, realized he needed to turn his life around. The other Wes Moore, who now spends his days in jail, took his chances for granted. Wes Moore had a strong mother to force him to military school which you could say saved his life. The other Wes’ mother was unable to give him that same support to force him to turn his life around. The two men were talking and Wes said to the other Wes, “I guess it’s hard sometimes to distinguish between second chances and last chances”(Moore). Fortunately for Wes, his mother, Joy, was there to help make him make the right decision before it was too late. The other Wes, unfortunately, can not say the same. He had less guidance to help him before it was too late, which put him where he is today. Although his story may not be a tragedy, it is tragic that similar men with similar stories are in such a different place today.
ReplyDeleteThe tagline for The Other Wes Moore is “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.” The author uses this tagline to outline the parallels of the Other Wes and the author’s lives, while also explaining the different paths that each of them took. The Other Wes’s life was tragic, and seemingly set in stone before he was even born. The Other Wes’s mom lost her own mother when she was young and had an alcoholic father. She didn’t know how to discipline her children, because she herself didn’t have a consistent guardian. The Other Wes’s life was also surrounded by confusing contradictions. One of the people the Other Wes looked up to the most was his big brother. His big brother would warn the Other Wes off the drug game while also participating in it; “He was willing to risk seeming like a hypocrite” (Moore). These contradictions were a constant in the Other Wes’s life, so he grew up being inadvertently told that he didn’t have to listen to what others told him. Especially when they themselves didn’t listen to their own advice. The Other Wes’s life is tragic, because it seems he never really had a chance in the first place.
ReplyDeleteThe tagline, “The chilling truth is that his story could've been mine. The tragedy is my story could've been his,” is used in the story to describe how Wes Moores life could’ve been the Other Wes’ life filled with devastating tragedies. The author Wes and the Other Wes grew up in very similar home environments. Wes Moore made good decisions on numerous occasions, because his mother was very strict on him. Wes Moore's mother, Joy, was constantly pushing him to do the best he can in school and in life. He walked away from issues rather than creating them. On the other hand, the other Wes Moore got into a lot of trouble and took his chances for granted. The other Wes Moore's mother, Mary, was unable to give him the support he needed to turn his life around. In the book Wes Moore had a conversation with the other Wes and expressed that “the chilling truth is that his story could have been mine” (Moore). The author Wes grew up with a supporting family that always looked out for him, but the other Wes grew up with drugs, conflict, and no good role models. Everything the author Wes’ mother did for him was for his own good and for him to be a better person in life. The author Wes and the other Wes Moores stories could have had very similar outcomes if they both had a support system growing up that didn’t allow many mistakes in life.
ReplyDeleteThe tagline in The Other Wes Moore, "The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his," means that the author and the Other Wes Moore came from similar backgrounds and consequently their futures could have been reversed. The Other Wes Moore’s story is a tragedy because he is a protagonist who has the inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances. He is a protagonist because he is the main character in the story; the story consistently explains the experiences that the Other Wes Moore went through. He tried so hard to get out of the drug game but was faced with the fact that he needed money to support his four children. The Other Wes Moore “held the plastic bag with both hands and poured in nine ounces of cocaine” (Moore 115). Wes, while did attend Job Courts in an attempt to create a better future for himself and his children, was not making enough money to support them, so he began boiling cocaine in an effort to sell it and earn money. Drugs were in his presence, and unfortunately he did not have the ability to cope with the fact that he did not have any money. He sold drugs hoping to earn money that way. Although the Other Wes Moore was a protagonist who had a similar background to another man, he was unable to cope with unfavorable circumstances.
ReplyDeleteIn the tagline for The Other Wes Moore there is a lot of truth and tragedy before the book even begins as it foreshadows the struggles to come in both boys’ lives. The life of the Other Wes is definitely considered a tragedy, starting in his childhood and ending up in prison for life. While both the author Wes and the Other Wes experienced life in Baltimore, the decisions they made while in certain situations made all the difference. One of those decisions that the Other Wes made ended up costing him everything as he “held the plastic bag with both hands and poured in nine ounces of cocaine” (Moore 145). Before he decided to sell drugs again, he started to have a regular job and get his life on track, but with four kids to care for that didn’t last long. As the pressure of needing money and the thought of old habits came back into play the tragedy of his life resumed, eventually getting him arrested and into jail for life. Although the Other Wes' life didn't go in the best direction, it really was a tragedy from the start because of the environment he was surrounded in.
ReplyDeleteThe tagline for The Other Wes Moore is "The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his." The author uses this as the tagline for his novel to express the corresponding events that make his life so similar to the other Moore and the choices made that utterly changed their fates. Both of the Wes Moore’s grew up with similar people, in similar situations, and lived near each other, but their paths they took in life were vastly different. For the other Wes Moore’s life was already determined by many, before he was even able to make decisions himself, but his family had higher hopes for him. This is similar to the author as well his family knew he could do something greater than what the neighborhood could provide, so his mother with the help of her parents were able to send him to military school. I would say this is the major turning point in the author's life, after getting mixed up in the drug gangs, this gave him an opportunity to turn his life back around. However, the point when everything started to spiral down for the other Wes was when he was able to recognize what was going on around every street corner; “Money? Wes just wanted to get his hands on one of the headsets. There was money involved too?” The other Wes had just been involved unknowingly the second he started speaking to the boys with the headsets that he thought looked cool, before anyone knew it Wes was in with everyone his family warned him to stay away from.
ReplyDeleteThe tagline that the author uses is "The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his." Wes Moore is a successful man, who once grew up in a harsh neighborhood with very little money. During his childhood, Wes had people to support him, even in the most difficult parts of his life. Wes is now an author and decided to write a book about the parallels of his life and another man named Wes Moore. The other Wes Moore, who also grew up in the same circumstances, didn’t have the right people in his life to help him. The other Wes’ brother would say, “‘Rule number one: If someone disrespects you, you send a message so fierce that they won’t have the chance to do it again’ … and Wes took it to heart” (Moore 33). The other Wes believed so strongly in those words that he ended up in jail multiple times. Growing up in a bad part of town, he had to adapt to his surroundings. He entered the world of crime and drugs and he knew that if he tried to escape he would fall right back into his old habits. He is now facing life in prison and unable to turn his life around. Without guidance in his life, the other Wes Moore’s life turned into a tragedy.
ReplyDeleteIn The Other Wes Moore, the author reflects on his life and realizes what life would have been if his mother hadn’t sent him to military school. This self-reflection occurs when Wes Moore, a successful veteran, learns about a man with the same name as him convicted of murder. The Other Wes Moore’s story is a tragedy in that no matter how hard he tried, Wes always seemed to regress in his efforts to be a functioning member of society. To financially support his family, Wes attends Woodland Job Corps to obtain his GED. He cared about his family so much that “he spent seven months building his [five-year-old] daughter [a] house from scratch” (Moore 143). After Wes got his GED, he found that it was difficult to find a job that paid more than nine dollars an hour and returned to the drug game.
ReplyDeleteIn the book The Other Wes Moore, the author uses the tagline, “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.” Although both the author and the Other Wes Moore grew up in similar environments, their upbringings caused their lives to have very different outcomes. The Other Wes Moore’s story is a tragedy because, in his adulthood, he couldn’t cope with the unfavorable circumstances of his upbringing. He was born into an unstable family, without a father. He followed his brother Tony and began dealing drugs, not listening to Tony’s warnings not to get involved, as it was commonplace in his community to deal. Wes got into consistent trouble, and as his mother never had a stable family, she couldn’t provide one for Wes, therefore being unable to prevent him from going down the wrong path. Wes tried to straighten himself out, but he was overwhelmed that his problems “had not disappeared—they’d simply returned to Baltimore, waiting for him to come back. In his absence, they’d compounded” (Moore). The Other Wes was a product of his unfavorable circumstances, and he became stuck in a cycle of bad decisions because he couldn’t cope with this.
ReplyDelete“The chilling truth is that his story could’ve been mine, The tragedy is my story could’ve been his.” The two Wes Moores grew up the same way, yet different. They grew up around the same drugs being exposed at a young age, similar friends, and similar housing conditions with the neighborhood. They grew up in the same environment. Both Moores had tragedy events in their life, but one I want to focus more on is the death of Wes Moore's father. Wes’ father was very supportive in his life and kept Wes on the right track teaching him different life lessons, he was really his life support. His mother loved his father and was devastated when he passed away. Slowly the family then started to fall apart. Wes started to get bad grades and rely on the drug selling business. His mother didn't want him to continue down that path so she sent him to military school. This was a huge change for Wes Moore. He went to get his problems fixed and his mind in check as the other Wes Moore was in prison trying to figure out the same thing.
ReplyDeleteThe Other Wes Moore, written by Wes Moore, is induced in tragedy. The well known quote of the book, "The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The Tragedy is that my story could have been his" is shown throughout the book. The author touches on a lot of the tragedy that both himself and the other Wes Moore dealt with. One of the first memories shared of Wes Moore's is early on when his mother loses the money for schooling. This is a major event in the build up of the story, because his mother was never able to get proper training to earn a stable living for her family. Mary could never get her family to a safer neighborhood, "Mary shuddered everytime she left the house and was plotting her escape from Cherry Hill almost as soon as she got there"(Moore 29). Through desperate attempts Mary tried to move her family out of bad neighborhoods. Without proper education she could not find a good enough job for the main source of income. This lack of income causes for issues in the book. It leaves a lasting impression on Wes and his siblings.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Other Wes Moore" book, it has lots of different literature meaning and the one we are talking about is the term "tragedy". The quote that everyone is talking about comes from one of the paragraphs in the book and it states, " The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his" and this shows that anything can happen to anyone, depending on which path you decide to take. Its like the butterfly effect, certain events, places, people, or things save you from what obviously wasn't supposed to happen to you because it didn't.
ReplyDelete“The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.”(Moore) I think that much unlike Author Wes Moore’s story, Other Wes’s story is a tragedy. While Author Wes was changing his life for the better, Other Wes was selling drugs on the street. Author Wes wanted to change his life for the better, while Other Wes was too far in to get out of the drug game, violence, and anything of the sort. Other Wes took all the chances he had for granted, while Author Wes took those chances, and became the successful man he is today. “If someone disrespects you, you send a message so fierce that they won’t have the chance to do it again” (Moore) As soon as Other Wes heard these words he took them and lived by them. Unlike Author Wes, who knew how to let things go and walk away, when Other Wes was provided a situation like this he reacted larger and more violently, and while it did send a message, It got him in big trouble with the police. A tragedy can be defined as an inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances that causes the protagonis to be brought to ruin, which is exactly what Other Wes’s story is. Other Wes tries so hard to make a good life for him and his family, but legitimately earned money just couldn't support his family the way money from selling drugs could.
ReplyDelete"The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his." What do you think the author means by this? The fact of the matter is in your life you are going to have many challenges and the way you respond to them is the most important factor. You determine the outcome of your life no matter the hardships you face. The other Wes Moore was faced with adversity from the very beginning of his life. He lived in a very bad neighborhood, would see his friends die, and drug use all over the place. Many kids are faced with the same battle, like the author Wes Moore, but end up succeeding in life. The other Wes Moore didn’t make the best decisions at time and that led him down a bad path. “After completing his academic course work, Wes started on his professional training. He selected carpentry…” The tragedy of the story is that Wes Moore actually tried to better his life but it did not plan out the way he wanted it to.
ReplyDeleteBy using, “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his,” the author is explaining that their lives could have been very different under certain circumstances. The turning point for the Other Wes Moore occurred when he joined the Job Corps. While attending Job Corps, the Other Wes Moore began to change; he was succeeding in school and began to think differently about where his life was heading. The Other Wes Moore began to “finally [feel] his life could go in a different direction” (Moore). He was inspired by his family to think about the plans for his future, which he had good intentions for; however, his life changed for the worse after he graduated from the Job Corps. When the Other Wes Moore returned to his old neighborhood, he was not making enough money to keep a stable household with his inconsistency with jobs. In a short amount of time, he was back where he started; however, this was inevitable. It was difficult finding good paying jobs with his criminal record; this was something he could not change. In my opinion, the Other Wes Moore’s life is a tragedy. After he attempted to turn over a new leaf, he ended up back in the drug game; it was a vicious cycle that he could not escape.
ReplyDeleteThe author used the word tragedy to describe how the other Wes Moore could have done amazing things with his life. He could have gotten away from the dark path like the author Wes Moore did, but the other Wes Moore couldn’t cope or grow. He was already so far into life he felt like trying to be better wasn’t helping him at all. The author was able to push himself away from all the things he was fearful of being, and the other Wes couldn’t do that.
ReplyDeleteIn The Other Wes Moore the tagline is, “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his." This tagline perfectly emcompasses the tragedy of this story where the author could have met the same fate as other Wes. When they both grew up they shared similar situations at home but they chose to handle them differently. Wes did not make the best decisions all the time but still made good decisions like walking away from a fight or sticking with military school when his mother sent him there. The other Wes turned to dealing drugs and violence when things got tough. When other Wes could not make enough money for his family he resorted to the drug game once again, “He reached over to the drawer that held his cutlery and pulled out a knife, brought the blade to the corner of the plastic bag. As the baking soda swirled in the rapidly heating pot, Wes held the plastic bag with both hands and poured out nine ounces of cocaine” (Moore 145). Wes could have joined the drug game when he left military school but decided to stay with the military and get his life on track. Even though these two lived similar lives Wes’s good decisions helped him avoid the tragedy that other Wes had been a part of.
ReplyDelete"The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his." Growing up both Wes's were given bad lives. The other Wes had his first knife fight around seven years old which is not a normal circumstance. The other Wes was never disciplined, therefore he never truly knew right from wrong. The auhtor Wes was taught discipline from a young age and while it did't work until he was sent off to military school he knew he had his mothers support and she would do anything for him, while the other Wes never had the support from his family, he got in trouble but he was never disciplined. In some aspects the other Wes's story is a tragedy, so many things could've prevented a life in prison but he never got the support he deserved.
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